Janna Levin On Kurt Gödel: Incompleteness Theorem Is Not Just A Numbers Game

Simply Charly's Culture Insight

Best known for his Incompleteness Theorem, Kurt Gödel (1906–1978) is considered one of the most important mathematicians and logicians of the 20th century. By showing that the establishment of a set of axioms encompassing all of mathematics would never succeed, he revolutionized the world of mathematics, logic, and philosophy. Janna Levin is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. Her scientific research concerns the Early Universe, Chaos, and Black Holes. Her recent book, the novel A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines (Knopf, 2006), won the PEN/Bingham Fellowship for Writers, which “honors an exceptionally talented fiction writer whose debut work . . . represents distinguished literary achievement.” She is also the author of the popular science book How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space. She joins us on Culture Insight to share her insight into the life and work of Kurt Gödel.